Condenser



July 28, 1931. J. H. SMITH 1,816,160

I 4 CONDENSER Original Filed Oct. 30, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I JL 43o.

255; J.H.Smith. WITNESS I INVENTOR 6.425. BY QJQEIM ATTORNEY July 28, 1931. J. H. SMITH 1,816,160

' CONDENSER Original Filed Oct. 30, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet J.H.Smith.

WITNESS INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented July as, 1931.

PATENT FFICE Join L11.:SAB ETT1{,LQI: ge easesrel g e g riv ma, 'Assmima Er'o wasenvermesn ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF resasyavama ,.My inventi'on relates to condensers, more particularly of the radial-flow type, andit has for an object to provide apparatus of this character wherein air and non-condense ablev vapors as Well as uncondensed vapors shall be cooled "before entering the air eif- I take. 1 l I Afurther object of my invention is to provide a condenser which shall have, the

ie tube nest. disposed to provide an air and non-'eondensable 'gas'space which communicates Withthe air off=t'ake-, With bathe structure arranged in the space to prevent the entrance of condensate into the air OH-take.

In my application, vSerial No. 141,221,

filedOctober 12, 1926 (Case 6433), and assigned to the lVestinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, (which has matured into Patent No. 1,721,261) I have dis- 20 closed and claimed a form of condenser,

i space being much larger] in cross section than hasrheretofore been the practice. The

object of thisne'vv' arrangement] of tubing isto improve the condenser both from the' standpoints of designand of performance, for it s possible tomake such a condenser 730 Without increasing the size thereof very .muchover the existing size, While; at the same time,, the radial thickness of thetube nest will be very; much reduced and the tubes will be pitched and distributed in a manner which promotes 1, the passage 1 of steam, vapors, and air therebetween. In other Words, the vapor path is shortened and it is possible for steam to comjeinto intimate contact with each tube. This makes possible diminished resistance to the passage of airystearn and vapors through the nest, and, in consequence, a better vacuum. An object of the" present invention is to provide air removal apparatus more particularly though not necessarily, for a condenser of thistype which shall incorporate structure or hich shall be so arranged that some oft-he tubes of the condenser maybe utilized for the purpose of preliminarily cooling air and non-condensable gases beh fiiimtien file eteber at, 1926-, Serial Ilo. 145,200. Renewed itovem'ber 4, 19 30.

fore they are Withdrawn by the air removal means.

A further object of my invention is to provide air and non-condensab'le gas outlet structure for reinforcing the tube and tube plate aggregate of a surface condenser.

These alid other objects are efi ecte'd by my invention, as Will be apparent from the following description and claims, taken in connection with the accompanying draiv- 0 ngs, forming a part of this applicatioinin which i Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a condenser embodying my improvement;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the app'aratus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 isan elevational view partly in section of a modified form of my invention;

Fig. fl is an end elevation of the a paratus shown in Fig. 3; and as Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a further modified form.

Referring nova to the drawings more in detail, in Fig. 1, I show a condenser enibodying a shell '10 having an inlet 11 for 515 steam, a hotv'vell 12, tube plates 13, which are preferably annular, the central portion thereof being cut out to decrease their weight. These plates support annular bands of first and second groups of tubes 14 and so 15,'the annular band of tubes 15 being arranged co-axially with respect to the annul'ar' band 14 and spaced slightly i ward "and radially ivith respect there-to. Preferably lntermediate tube supports 16, support 'ed in any suitable manner by the g V shell, eooperate with the tubes 14 and 15 at int? mediate points of the length of the latte.

i lVith this arrangement of nested annular groups of tubes, a central air and non-con- 18a into an inlet water box space 20 communicating with the cooling water inlet 21 and into an exit water space. 22 communicating with an outlet 23, the water box struc ture 19 providing a space 24 for passage of water from they first-pass to the second-pass tubes, I

Referring to the air and non-condensable vapor ofi' takes which communicate with the 10 central air'and non-condensable space '17, I show, in Fig.1, off=take1nembers 25'Cl1S- posed adjacent to each tube plate 13,..these members being tubular and connected to" registering tubular members 26having outwardly extending flanges 27 positioned against the interior sides. of the tube plates 13. Aligned with and connected to the .members 26,.are outlet members 28 which vapors.

. pass through the water box structures to. the

exterior of the condenser and to any suitable air removal apparatus. The opposed inner ends of the .off-takemembers 25 are. con- ..nected by a tubular strutfmember 29 so that the connected members. 25, 26 and 29, the

possible to greatly reduce the number of tie or strut tubes usually employed for this.

purpose. I

The ofi-take members 25 and 26 have structure cooperating therewith to assure cooling of entering air and non-condensable 25 having a substantially cylindricalwall or sleeve portion v30 whichencompasses .or telescopes the off-take 25, and from the flange 27 ofthe member 26 a similar wall of some- .whatv greater diameter extends. inwardly from the acent tube plate so as to encompass the wall .30 and also thextubes 15 for a 'relativelyshort distance... :The member 30 is spaced from the flanger27 sothat air. and

non-condensable.vapors. passing in between i the telescoping or overlapping sleeve or wall portions 30 and 31 may easily turn and enter v.the spacewithin the wall or sleeve portion 30 and then pass through the. openings 32 according communicationwith the outlet pasv sages of thejoif-takes. .The tubes of group 15 pass through both the tube'plates 13' and the flanges 27 and the portions thereof between the wall or. sleeve portions 30, and:3l function to coolthe air andnon-condensablegases which are leaving the condenser. and

which must pass about the said tube portions and thus be preliminarily-cooled before they enter theoiftake openings.

The condenser shown in Fig. 1ispreferably of the two-pass type, that is, theinlet chamber 20 supplies water for. the first-pass and the chamber 24 furnishes a'passage for water from the first-pass to the second-pass. The inner annular group of tubes 15 is preterably arranged in the second-pass; and,

To this end, I showv .eachmember in order that this may be done, I show, for example, a curved passage 33 formed by an annular member 34 enclosed bythe water box. structure 18, this member having an inner annular wall 35 joined to a lower,

outer semi-circular wall 36 by an end por tionof web 37, the walls 35 and36 and the web portion 3'? forming the passage 33, which communicates with the upper waterbox space, 22. Connected to the member34 there is a" surrounding-member' 38 joined at its outer end to the end plate of the 'waterbox structure 18, the members 34 and 38 forming a acket space 39 surrounding the tubular member 28. By providing openings 40 and 4l in the, member 38 and space 22, cooling water. may be passed through the jacket space 39 to cool the outlet member 28, thereby. making it. possible to further cool air and non-condensablei vapors by s'tructureembodied in the condenser structurelproper. flanges 27 being connected-to thetube plates 13, constitute a strut or reinforcement struc- I ture for the tube plates, thereby making it ,the art that I may readily' rearrange. the

circulation of the cooling waterso that firstpass cooling water iscirculated through the inner :or air: and non-condensable gas cooling 11 513.15 I 4 y. .1 I Thestructure shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be changed, without much modification into a single-pass condenser; [Referring to Fig.

3, I showa-single-pass condenser of this type, in which it will be seen that water is supplied by the inlet 43 to'the inletspace 430, which communicates with the tube nests 14 and 15 at o'neendthereof, and that water leaves from "the .7 outlet 42 communicating with the outlet space 42a, the latter receivwater from the other ends of the tubes 14 and 15. lVith this modified form of construction, the outlet members28 are freely exposed to the water; within the spaces 42a and 436; so that-air-and.non-condensable gases passingthrough the outlets are preliminarily cooled.

Referring to Fig. 5, the air ofitake means takes the form of alongitu'dinal member 44 having lateral inlets' 45 extending partly or wholly beneath the bottom ofthe corespace 46 formed'bythe annular bankof tubes 47,

as heretofore referred to.- The member 44 is supported by and communicates with hol- 'low standards48 connected to any suitable air withdrawal means. A deflector member 49 1S arranged in the core space 46 and pre vents condensate from passing into the air offtake openings 45. By having outlets 45 arranged with-respect-to tubes of the annular nest 47 inthe manner stated, it is i communicating, respectively, with the .inlet water space 20 and with the outletwater eels- &

assured that air and non condensable vapors shall be brought in contact With nner'tubes ,of the liar group in. passing through the openings 4 5,, thereby assuring preliminary eooli of the air and; vapors before passing out f ha n er- 1 .From the foregoing,it Will be apparent that I have providechin connection with a condenser havin tubes arranged to provide a relatively large air and non-condensserve to define an outlet passage containing cooling tubes for outgoing airandnoncoir densable gases: In accordance, with my preferred for-in,,theofftake means serves to reinforce the tube; and tube plate aggregate. VVhile'I have shown my invention in several forms it Will be obvious to those skilled inthe-art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible. of various other changes and modifications,Without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by theprior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a condenser of the radial-flow type, the combination of a shell having a steam inlet and a condensate outlet, tube plates connected to the shell, a tube nest consisting of tubes surrounding an air and non-condensable gas space and supported by the tubeplates, an off-take having openings to receive air and non-condensable gases from said space, means arranged Within the air and non-condensable space to cause air and non-condensable gases to pass about a portion of the inner tubes of said nest before entering the cit-take openings, and means providing for the circulation of cooling medium through said tubes.

2. In a condenser, the combination of a shell having a-steam inlet and condensate outlet means, a nest of tubes in the condenser, off-take means, bafiie means extending longitudinally of the condenser for causing air and non-condensable gases to pass I longitudinally of a portion of the tubes before entering the ofi-take means, and means providing for the circulation of cooling medium through the tubes.

3. In a condenser, the combination of a shell having steam inlet and con lensate outlet means, first and second groups of tubes, the second group of tubes defining an air and non-condensalble gasspace, and noncondensable gas elf-take means, spaced and over-lapping members defn'iii-ig a passage for air and non-condensable gases from said spaceto the off-take means and said vpassage including the second group of tubes,

and means providing for the circulation of cooling medium throughthe tubes,

4. In a condenser, the combinatlon of a shell having a steam inlet and condensate outlet means, substantially annular tube plates secured to the ends of the shell, tubes disposed in annular formation and carried by the tube plates and providing a central air andnon-condensable gas space of rela-' tively large cross sectional area, air off-take means communicating With said space, and battle means for preventing the entry of condensate into said off-take means.

'5. In a condenser of the radial-flow type, the combination of a shell, substantially annular tube plates secured to the ends of the shell, tubes carried by the tube plates and disposed in annular formation to provide a central air core space, aligned with the cen-" tral openings of the annular tube plates,

condensate elf-take structure connected to the tube plates and serving to brace the latter, and means providing for circulation of cooling water through the tubes.

6. In a condenser, the combination of a shell having a steam inlet and condensate outlet means, substantially annular tube plates secured to the ends of the shell, tubes carried by the plates and disposed in annu-' lar formation to provide for a relatively large air and non-condensabjle gas space, oiltake members connected to thetube plates and having olf-take passages adapted to communicate with said space, battle means for causing air and non-condensable gases to pass about a portion of said tubes before entering the off-take passages, and means providing for the circulation of coolin medium through said tubes.

7. A surface condenser comprising a condensing chamber, inner and outer subs-tantially annular banks of tubes traversingsaid chamber, means for directing circulating media through one of the respective banks of tubes in a plurality of passes in series and through the other of said banks of tubes in parallel with one of said plurality of passes, means providing a passage for conducting air and non-condensable gases from the central portion of said chamber, and means for subjectingvsaid passage to successively lower temperatures in the direction of flow through said passage.

8. A surface condenser comprising a con densing chamber, substantially concentric banks of tubes traversing said chamber, means for directing v circulating media through one of the respective banks of tubes in a plurality of passes in series and through llll another of said banks of tubes in] parallel With one of said plurality of passes, means providing a passage for conducting air and non-condensablegases from the condenser, said passage means extending longitudinally of and about said another bank of tubes and through the said means for directing the circulating media.

9. A surface condenser comprising a condensing chamber, a nest'of tubes traversing said chamber, an inlet and discharge Waterv box for one end of the nest and a return Water box for the other end of the nest, means provldlng a passage from the condensing chamber through the inlet and discharge Water box for conducting air and non-condensable gases from the condenser,

andmeans for by-passing some of the circulating Water across the inlet and discharge portion of the condensing chamber along the end portions of the tubes of the inner tube bank and through the inlet and discharge Water box for conducting air andnon-condensable gases from the condenser, and means for by-passing circulating media across the inlet and discharge Water box and around said passage for cooling themedia therein. e

p 11. In heat exchange apparatus, the combination of a shell structure,-condensable media inlet means provided in the shell structure,a condensate outlet means provided in the shell structure, tubesheets and cooling fluid boxes disposed at longitudinal ends of the shell structure, one of'said tube sheets being substantially'annular in shape, cooling tubes carried by, the tube sheets and disposed in substantially annular formation so as to provide a longitudinally-extending core space, and alongitudinally-extending non-condensable gas off-take structure secured 1n the core space and joined to the annular tube sheet for bracing the same.

12. The combination of heat exchange ap paratus embodying a shell structure, condensable media inlet means provided inthe shell structure, condensate outlet means provided in the shell structure, tube sheets and cooling fluid boxes disposed at the longitudinal ends of the shell structure, one of said tube sheets being'substantially annular in. shape, condensing tubes carried bythe tube sheets and disposed in substantially annular formation so as to provide a longitudinallyextending corespace, a longitudinally-extending non-condensable gas off=take structure secured in the core space and joined to the annular tube sheet for bracing the same, and means disposed in the core space for cooling the non-condensable gases removed through the off-take structure. 13. In a condenser, the combination of a shell having'steam inlet and condensate outlet means, tube sheets and Water boxes disposed at the longitudinal ends of the shell, a nest of cooling tubes connected between the tube sheets and extending longitudinally through the shell, longitudinally-spaced tube supporting plates extending transversely of the shell and dividing the shell into a plurality of compartments disposed in free and open communication With each other, an air off-take'having an outlet located near one end of the condenser and'extending longitudinally through the tube supporting plates Within the shell in substantially a central portion of the tubenest, and means associated With theair off-take for directing the passage of airremoved thereby longitudinally over an adj acentportion'of the tube nest.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto sub scribed my name this 30th day of September, 1926; r

' p 7 JOHN H. SMITH. 

